Updated: Elderly Man Allegedly Attacked at Burger King Because Of His Age, Victim Speaks

A Red Bluff man was arrested Monday after police said he assaulted an elderly man in a restaurant because of the victim's age.

Police said Russell Rodgers, 32, attacked Bill Bayles, 74, at the Burger King in Red Bluff on Monday at 12:56 p.m.

Bayles told police he encountered Rodgers in the bathroom of the restaurant on Antelope Boulevard. Rodgers allegedly slammed him in the face with a bathroom stall door, knocking him to the ground.

"It's just unbelievable really that someone would do that to me because you don't know it's coming. I was blindsided," recounted Bayles Tuesday afternoon.

"The guy walked out as I walked in and as I was closing the door behind me he slammed the door into me and knocked me to the floor."

As Bayles tried to get up, Rodgers allegedly hit him again with the door, saying "That is what I do to old people."

Before leaving the victim, Rodgers allegedly added "I knocked you down because you are old."

Police and deputies were familiar with Rodgers and searched the area but failed to find him. Later Rodgers contacted dispatch asking why police were looking for him. He met a deputy at a gas station and was arrested just after 8 p.m..

He was booked into the Tehama County jail for assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse.